San Beda To Open Season With Only 6 Players

San Beda Red Lions Nigerian center Ola Adeogun drew a four-game suspension from the NCAA Policy Board, the collegiate league announced Wednesday.

Adeogun was the catalyst of a brawl that erupted at the San Beda campus last December, which began when San Sebastian College men's volleyball players allegedly shouted racists slurs at him.

While the volleyball players denied the charge, the situation escalated to the point where former San Beda men's basketball coach Frankie Lim, as well as former Red Lion Dave Marcelo, engaged San Sebastian coach Roger Gorayeb, with a San Sebastian female volleyball player getting hurt in the process.

At the time of the brawl, Adeogun was still undergoing part of his two-year residency period. Due to his status then as a spectator and not an official player, the NCAA handed him a one-year ban from any NCAA sporting event venue, with the understanding that it would be lifted and replaced with a different punishment when formally lined-up for the upcoming NCAA season.

Said punishment turned out to be a four-game suspension, down from the six games initially proposed. San Beda had been lobbying for just a three-game ban but were denied.

The Policy Board also reduced the suspensions of several other Red Lions from two games to one, namely Kyle Pascual, Jake Pascual, Jaypee Mendoza, Ryusei Koga, Rome dela Rosa, Melo Lim, Baser Amer and Anjo Caram.

The sanctions still mean that the Red Lions will begin the season with just six players available from their 16-man roster: Richie Villaruz, Dave Moralde, Ivan Ludovice, Francis Abacar, Jun Bonsubre and the returning Arthur Dela Cruz.

San Beda begins their title defense on June 24 versus the Arellano University Chiefs, coached by former San Beda mentor Koy Banal.

source: AMD, GMA News